A multidimensional analysis of factors associated with serving accuracy in youth volleyball players

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. Successful volleyball performance relies on multiple physical and technical abilities, including serving accuracy. Although anthropometric characteristics and physical fitness are associated with volleyball performance, their relative contributions to individual differences in serving accuracy remain of practical interest. This study aimed to examine the relationships among anthropometric characteristics, physical fitness, and serving accuracy, and to explore their contributions to interindividual variation in serving accuracy in youth volleyball players. Materials and Methods. Sixty-four youth volleyball players (32 males and 32 females; age = 18.52 ± 1.05 years) completed assessments of anthropometry, body composition, flexibility, muscle strength, muscle power, balance, agility, sprint performance, aerobic capacity, and volleyball serving accuracy. Partial correlation analyses controlling for sex were conducted, followed by hierarchical multiple regression to examine the independent contributions of selected variables to serving accuracy. Results. Serving accuracy was positively associated with right upper arm length (r = 0.343, p = 0.006), left upper arm length (r = 0.283, p = 0.025), and handgrip strength (r = 0.258, p = 0.041), and negatively associated with agility time (r = −0.281, p = 0.026) after controlling for sex. The final regression model explained 19.1% of the variance in serving accuracy (R² = 0.191, adjusted R² = 0.136, p = 0.013). The joint inclusion of right upper arm length, handgrip strength, and agility accounted for an additional 15.9% of the variance beyond sex (ΔR² = 0.159, p = 0.013); however, none of these variables showed a statistically significant independent association with serving accuracy in the final model (all p > 0.05). Conclusions. Upper arm length, handgrip strength, and agility were associated with serving accuracy after controlling for sex, but none demonstrated a significant independent association when considered together. These findings highlight the multifactorial nature of serving accuracy and should be interpreted as exploratory associations rather than evidence of predictive validity or causal effects.